Internal-combustion engine.



G. L. GROOK.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.24, 1908.

Patented Aug". 17, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT l.

G. L. CROOK.

INTERNAL 00MB USTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT24, 1908.

931,389. Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

Fig.4.

I v Geor e Louis Crook. WWMM Whz WM H no. 031,389..

i ,To all whom "it my UNITED STATES PATENT caries.

:eEoReE tours oaoox; or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR ao ATLAS ENGINE wears,

TRUSTEE, OF INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA, A-CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

INTERNALQOMBUSTION ENGINE a citizen of the "United States, residing at Indianapolis,v in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new .and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, specification.

.My invention has relation to that class of of which the following is a :machines wherein, by means ofthe combus- .tion, Within a cylinder, of a mixture of at- ;mos'pheric air with a. liquid, vaporousor gaseous fuel, heat and pressure againsta I ,piston .are produced, which by suitable has, for this reason, called into the market mechanism, is transformed into motive power. Such a piece of machinery is knownas an internal combustion engine. Many different kinds of fuel, such as mineral =oil,.crude petroleum, naphtha, petrol, coal oil distillate, gasolene, kerosene, methol, alcohol, natural gas, illuminating gas, producer gas, etc., have been utilized in such engines. But as each kind of fuel requires 'pecuharf treatment with regard to the conditions of-introduction into the cylinder,

proportionate admixture vof air, etc., it has been the practice hithertoto build each en-' gine with particular reference to the kind of fuel intended to be used, as it has been found impracticable with any apparatus hitherto devised to change from one kind of fuel to, anotherwithout such modifications in the {construction of theengine as rendered the change inconvenient, expensive and unsatis-' factory, The demand for a cheaper and more convenientniotor than-the steam engine a bewildering-variety of gas engines, vapor engines, gasoleue engines, Oll engines and alco- .hol engines, which hasgreatly complicated :the business of engine building. Ihave dissuccessfully usedin any internal combustion covered, however, that with a properlydesigned and adjustable fuel supplying apparatus, theconditions of the introduction of the fuel and the proportioning of its admixture with air may be so controlled that any-variety-of gaseous or liquid fuel may be engineof proper construction, without the removal or substitution of any part, or any change other, than the proper manipulation :of the adjustments provided. Such an a; ,paratuswould, of course, benovel, and o viously useful. To provide itisthe object qigiiy invention,

Specification of Letters Patent.

HQ Application med september 2 4, 1908. Serial No. 454,660.

' Patented Aug-.17, loos.

Investigation has shown me that in order toburn with sufficient speed for practical use in an internal combustion engine, .ail fuels must be introduced'into the cylinder in. a gaseous state, or at least in such state of fine division as approximates-that condition, and properly mixed in the required proportions with air. Permanent gases, suchas natural,

illuminatingand producer gas, require only the proper admixture of air in .the proper tions indicated byvtheir chemical constituti on, compression and ignition, to secure perfect combustion. The required proportion of-air is such that at the moment of ignition each particle ofcombustible will ffin d itself in contact with ,a .quantityof atmospheric oxygen slightly in excess of that necessary for its perfect combustion. Then theenergy developed by the combustion will be directly proportional to the thermic efiiciencyof the gas consumed. Very volatile liquids, such as gasolene, are converted into an inflammable vapor by a current of air drawn through or over them, and this mixture of air and vapor may be treated as a gas in the b further proportionate admixture of air before introduction into the cylinder. The dynamic result, upon ignition, will be, as with a permanent gas, in proportion to the thermic content of the mixture, considered as a gas. Less volatile fluids, such as kerosene, distillate, alcohol, crude oil, etc., to be reduced by the current of airto a state of sufliciently fine division to insure their'burning with sufficient speed for perfect combustion, require to be heated in proportion to their lack of volatility.

Internal combustion engines must operate at the highest practicable speed, in order to insure the conversion of the greatest possible ercentage of the thermicefiiciency of the uel into mechanical energy, The slower this conversion is effected, the greater will be the proportion of the heat diffused through the cylinder and lost in the water-- jacket which is necessary to preserve the lubrication of the rubbing surfaces ofcylinder and piston. If the rate of combustion be too slow, there .will not be'suflicienttime for perfect combustion during the. working stroke of the piston, and a portion ofthe fuel will be discharged with the exhaust from the engine, unburned- "Nor ,must the fuel be. heated sohighly as to convert it into a hot vapor. ,Thatwillnot only cause theefuel 11c to occupy an undue amount of space, will heat and expand the air it mixes with,

and so lessen the development of power by diminishing the density of the charge. It will also tend to preignition, or backfiring. The degree of heating allowed must be just enough to secure the best'result. This demands an effective heating apparatus with ready means of adjustment. The fuel thus vaporized, or atomized, should pass at once through a mixer having the required means of ad ustment so as to insure its admixture with the proper proportion of air due to the character of the fuel; and before any separation or segregation can take place it should pass' on through a throttle valve,

which determines the quantity of the charge to be admitted, andv so on into the engine cylinder, to be com res'sed and ignited. The c arge will thus a ways be of uniform proportions, as required by the kind of fuel and etermined by the adjustments. The quanto carry the .sufiicient for perfect combustion. The more volatile component of the liquid (hydrogen) having a greater aflinity for oxygen than the less volatile (carbon) bui ns and leaves a; portion of the latter nothing to combine with, so, being in its uncombined state a solid, nothing else can occur but a deposit. But if the supply be so regulated that an excess of oxygen is always present,- combusengine proper may tion will be complete and no such deposit can occur. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate my inventlon.

, Figure lisa plan of an engine cylinder equipped with my improved fuel supplying apparatus; Fig. 2 a side elevation in partial section; Fig. 3 an end elevation in partial section, and Fig. 4 a detail on a larger scale, of parts shown in Fig. 2. i

The cylinder and all'other details of the be of any suitable construction, having an automatic inlet valve, a positively operated exhaust valve and a centrifugal ,governor. With the particular construction and arrangement of these de' tails, my invention has nothing to do, requiring in this respect only what may be considered good engineering practice. My invention relates solely to the method and apparatus for supplying fuel; which I will now proceed to describe.

For supplying liquid fuels, I provide a necessary suction and -quire to beheated and is convenient to start 'e neso pump ,10 of -suitable construction, having the delivery valves and piping to draw the fuel from a tank orreservoir- (not shown), located in any-safe and convenient place. This pump is supportedby attachment to some part of the engine bedplate or foundation where it may conveniently-bedriven from a wrist 11 on the cam gear, or by attachment to some other moving part-of the engine. A-rotary, or any other sort of pump mi ht serve equally well.

It is obvious that, if it be desired to have choice of two or more kinds of liquid fuel, as for instance, gasolene, which does not'r.e-

the engine with when cold, and kerosene,

petroleum dlstillate or alcohol, for use after the engine is warmed up, the pump suction may be divided into as many branches 12, 13

'. 14,15 as may be desired, each controlled by its proper valve or cock 12', 13, 14', 15 and.

connected with a separate tank or reservoir for each kind of fuel. The change from one to another Wlll then require only the ma-- nipulati on of the proper cocks and the regulation of the feed and air valves. The delivery )ipe 16 of the pump .10 discharges into a constant level basin 17 L This is a receiver of any convenient size and shape which will serve the purpose. The liquid is delivered under a kind of baflle 18 designed to quell any disturbance of the level I oftheliquid in the basin dueto the current in the delivery pipe. The stream striking this battle is directed downward where it enters the main =compartment of the basin through a wide but shallow opening. In the center of the basin is an overflow opening 19 surrounded by a ledge 20 which rises to about mid-height of the receiver. The relative sizes of the delivery and overflow orifices' are such that the liquid flowing over the ledge will escape throu h the overflow so freely that the level 0 the liquid will remain practically constant, notwithstanding any variation of the speed of the pump. From the overflow opening leads a pipe 21 which may be'divided into a number of branches 22, 23, 24c, 25, each controlledbranch pipes carry back to their respective tanks or reservoirs the excess of whatever kind of liquid fuel the supply pump is serving. In the side of the basin 17 so placed that about one-fourth of its area is always beneath the level of the liquid, is an opening 26 through which a'spray of the liquid fuel, mingled with air, is drawn by the suction of theengines piston. The side of the basin containing this opening is flanged and pro- 125.

vided with bolts whereby it is fastened to a heater 27 which is essenti ally a part or branch of the engines exhaust pipe .28. Passing through the heater in such a positionas to constitute a continuation of the opening 26 30 1 is connected to the centrifugal governor 42 is a heater pipe 29 the farther end of which is higher than the one connecting with the Qbasin 17, through the opening 26', so that the liquid can not flow by gravity through the pipe, but can only be'drawn tl ro'ugh it by the currentof air sucked through by the engine. The pipe 29 being surrounded by the more or lesshot exhaust passing through the heater, the spray of liquid drawn through it isl'ieated to the required degree. This is regulated. by providing'the heater 27 with a bypass 30 and a switch valve, 31 whereby more or less of the exhaust from the engine may be diverted into either chanml. The side of the heater 27 which is 0pposite from the basin 1-7 is also furnished .with a flange and bolts,-whereby it is fastened to a mixer 35 the heater pipe 29,

connecting within the mixer through a passage controlled by a needle valve 36 through which the fuel, spray is drawn into the body of'tlie mixer. i

Air entering through the bottom of the [mixeriningles with the fuel spray and the mixture passes onward through the butterfly throttle valve 37 into, the engines cylinder 38. The proper admixture of spray and air is regulated by adjusting the openiiig of the needle-valve 36 by means of its liandwh'eel 39. The rod 41 of the valve 37 the motion of which, derived from the engine, determiiies'the amount of the mixture drawn into the cylinder for each charge. Attached totlie bottom of the mixer 85 is a gas valve t3 to which is connected one air supply'pipe 44 and severalga's pipes 45 each with its proper cook or valve 46 and connection with the main or gas holder supplying a particular kind of gas. The proportions of gas and air are regulated by adjusting the tension of the spring-47 by means of the nut 48.

To change" from the useof one kind of fuel to IYiOtlIGIQ SlHI Ply shut off the supply of that which is being used, by means of the cock in its supply pipe, and open thecock wliichcoiitrols the supply of the fuel desired. Then make such adjustment in the heater, niixeand air valves as may be re- 50;

qi'iired. This can be done Without stopping the en 'ine or more than momentarilv inter- ID i t u fering with its economical performance.

Of course it is not to be supposed that any 1 one engine will, in practice, be equipped for every kind of fuel. The object of so showing this engine is merely to demonstrate how readily a change may be made from one kind of fuel to another if the proper means of adjustment be provided, and to show that in view of my invention, it is not necessary to provide a different engine for each differentkindof fuel, nor even to make any material change in the construction of an engine to .ada t it to the use of any particular kind of uel, if it be provided with the means of adjustment described, which constitute my. 'lllYBlltlOIl. The kind of fuel which Willbe used in an engine is generally known at the time of its installation, filldtlle p1pe..connections for that alone need be made, the

orifices for the supply of other kinds being simply plugged up. Thus, a dealer rece ving an order for an internal combustion engine may select from his stock one of suitable dimensions and equ p it for the particular fuel mentioned in the order. If it. is to burn liquid fuel exclusii' e'ly, he may leave off the gas valve 43. Or,'if gas only 18 to be used, he may disconnect the parts, 10 and 17 close the needle valve 36 and connect the supply pipes of tlie gas to be used, plugging up other orinces.

it will be noted that the heater structure 27 is arranged between the inlet structure' .and the liquid-fuel container and in practice I iiiid it desirable to finish the opposed faces of this heater structure and the cooperating faces of the liquid-fuel container and the inlet structure in the same way so that the parts may be associatedas shown in Fig. 2 or the heater structure may be eliminated and the liquid fuel container attached directly to the inlet structure. By

this arrangement it becomes possible to iminediately furnish a customer either with the structure as shown in Fig. 2, and capable of handling the heavier liquid-fuels, to furnish a customer with a structure intended only for the use of those. lighter liquid-fuels which do not require preliminary lieating.-

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with an internal comb istion engine, of aninlet structure therefor comprising an air passage, a valved main gas passage communicating therewith, a

heating structure comprising a main chain-' her in communication with the exhaust pasof the engine, a fuel tube extending through said chamber, said fuel tube com-- .with the exhaust passage of the engine. a

fuel tube extendingthrough said chamber, said fuel tube communicating with the interior ofthe inlet.- stri'ictui'e, and av liquid-fuel container c mimunicating with said fuel passage.

3. The combination, with an internal combustion engine, ofan inlet structure therefor comprising. an air passage, a valved main gas passage communicating therewith, a-

plurality of independent. valved gas passages communicating with said main gas passage beyond the valve thereof, a heating structure comprising a main chamber in communication with the exhaust passage of the -engine, a' fuel tube extending through said chamber, said fuel. tube communicating with the interior ofthe inlet structure, and a liquid-fuel container communicating with said fuel passage.

4. The combination, With'an internal combustion' engine, of an inlet structure therefor comprising an air passage, a heating structure comprising a main chamber in communicat on with the exhaust passage -of the en gme, fuel tube extending throngh said chamber, said fuel tube communicating with said fuel passage, and a plurality of independent valved feed-pipes for said liquidfuel container. v

6. The combination, with an internal combustion engine, of an inlet structure therefor comprising an air passage, a plurality of independent valved gas passages communicat- .ing with said main gas passage beyond the valve thereof, .a heating structure comprising a mam chamber in communication with the exhaust passage of the engine, a fuel tube extending through said-chamber, said fuel tube conununicating with the interiorof the inlet structure, a liquid-fuel container communicating with said fuel passage, and a luralityof independent valved feed-pipes f dr said liquid-fuel container.

7 The combinatlon, with an internal combustion engine, of an inlet structure therefor I comprisingan air passage, a valved main gas passage communicating therewith, a plurality of independent valved gas passages com-.

municating with said niaingas passage beyond the valve'thereof, a heating. structure comprising a main chamber in-communi'cation with the exhaust passage ofthe engine, a fuel tube extending through said chamber, said fuel tube communicating with the interior of the inlet structure, a liquid-fuel container communicating with said fuel as-.

sage, and a plurality of independent Va ved feed-pipes for said liquid-fuel container.

8. The combination, with an internal combustion engine, of an inlet structure therefor comprising a main gaspassage and a fuel passage leading into said main'passagefrom one side, a heating structure comprising a main passage and a fuel tube passing therethrough, the said heating structure having surface adapted to cooperate with the liquid fuel container at one end and the inlet structure at the other end, and a damper structure arranged within said chamber to regulate the flow of exhaust through said chamber relative to the fuel tube.

9, The combination with an internal combustron engine, of an inlet structure therefor comprising .a main gas passage and a fuel passage leading into said main passage-from one side, a liquid fuel containerhaving a face adapted to cooperate with the fuel tube of the inlet structure, a heating structure comprising a main passageand a fuel tube passing therethrough, the said heating structure having at each end of the fuel passage a finished surface adapted to cooperate with the liquid fuel container at one end and the inlet structure at the other end, and 'a damper structure arranged within said chamber to regulate the flow of exhaust through said chamber relative to the fuel tube.

In witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal 'at Indianapolis, Indiana,

7-0 at each end of the fuel passage ajfinished' this 17th day of September, A, D. one'thousand nine hundred and eight.

. GEORGE LOUIS eaoor. [as] Witnesses: 1

AR'rnUn M. H001), T1101 AS \V. MoMnANs. 

